When I first informed my friends and family that I would be studying abroad in Italy for a month to study the Mediterranean Diet, their initial response was, “What are you going to eat?” They all know I have been gluten-free (GF) for a year and while they were excited for my opportunity, it was clear that images of pizza, pasta, and grains were flying through their heads.

Oh sweet basil, it’s pesto time again! Some say pesto has been around since the 1860’s, others say some version of it has been filling up Italians since the 16th century, but one thing is for sure, it’s been around long before the invention of food processors or blenders. This “old fashioned” recipe uses only […]

The jolly middle aged man with slightly rounded features and a walk that reminded us of Andre the Giant rattled off the specials of the day. This was a weekday in the Mediterranean and the specials were the only items on the menu. Goat stew, tzatziki, Greek salad, and Briam. I get such a thrill […]

In this podcast, we interview Dr. Artemis Morris, a naturopathic physician about the health benefits and myths of olive oil. One of the myths of olive oil is that you cannot use it for frying or deep-frying, because of its low smoking point.

Sofrito is a traditional Spanish vegetable base that is a foundation for many other dishes. It has a long a long history and has been referenced in cookbooks as early as the 1300’s.

Sofrito is highly flavorful and makes an excellent base for sauces, stews and other dishes. The elevated flavors are the result of the way the ingredients are prepared; they are cooked in fat (olive oil) to release the flavors. Many cuisines around the world use this technique: In India, dishes like curry and dal (beans) are covered with “tempering” which is a selection of aromatic spices that have been cooked in ghee (clarified butter) to release their flavors. In Thailand, a curry paste is cooked with coconut milk and the flavor of the spices and ingredients are released.

Different Mediterranean cuisines have their own variations of sofrito.

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Foods of Crete Cook Book

Do you want to eat like the
healthiest people in the world?

In the 1960’s, the Greek island of Crete had the highest longevity rates in the world, the men lived to be the same age as the women and researchers could only find one man on the island who had heart disease.